


Catching Up

by afteriwake



Series: How To Save A Life [4]
Category: CSI: NY
Genre: Catching Up, Coffee, Coffee Shops, F/M, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Late Night Conversations, Late at Night, Male-Female Friendship, POV Don Flack, Phone Calls & Telephones, Post-Episode AU: s02e03 Zoo York
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-11-13 07:45:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18027638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: What starts as a late night coffee and catching up session becomes so much more...





	Catching Up

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thiscanbegin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thiscanbegin/gifts).



> **thiscanbegin** gave me a copy of the song the series is named after ages ago, and that song and the prompt _Five senses (Touch) from **stagesoflove** is what inspired this story._

It wasn't until she was gone that he realized what he'd missed.

He was waiting for someone to find him in the break room. At the moment he didn't remember who, or what reason he was waiting for them. It had to do with a case...it _always_ had to do with a case, but for a minute he was lost in his own thoughts, remembering how things used to be.

He didn't hate the new girl, but the fact of the matter was she wasn't Aiden. And damn, he missed Aiden.

Not that he couldn't go see her...he could. And he kept planning on going, but he didn't. He wasn't sure what to do or what to say; when they had been working together he'd had enough trouble doing that. Now? It'd be too hard.

Hawkes rapped on the glass door. "Got a name for you. Thought we'd go pick the guy up," he said. Then he took a closer look at Flack. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, fine." He got up and headed to the door. "Who have we got?"

**\---**

Long day. A long night before that. He was hoping to get a little sleep tonight. More sleep than he'd gotten the night before, anyway. He followed his nightly routine: take off the jacket and toss it on the couch. Take off the tie and toss it on top. Unbutton the shirt and head over to his kitchen to check the messages. Then head into the bathroom and take a shower. Follow that up with going to bed and trying to sleep. Same old, same old. It never really changed.

He'd gotten up to the point where he checked the messages. Normally nothing needed to be taken care of immediately; it was usually late when he came in and that meant calling people back, unless they _really_ wanted him to do it that night, could be held off till the next day.

He pressed play only to find he had one message.

 _Hey, Flack. It's Aiden. Look...I just wanted to see how things were, see if you might be interested in getting a cup of coffee sometime. Call me when you can, okay? Still at the same number._ He started to press the playback key when she spoke up again on the message. _And... I guess I really just want to talk to you. If you get back late, call me then. Okay?_

He didn't even hesitate. He picked up the phone and punched in her number; he didn't need to look it up, he had memorized it ages ago.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Burn."

"Flack! When I said call me, I didn't think it'd be until after midnight." He could hear the smile in her voice, and it felt nice. "You just get home?"

"Not even five minutes ago."

"Huh." There was a pause. "Long day?"

"I sound tired or something?"

"A little."

"Well, it was." he looked over at his jacket and tie. "But not long enough that I couldn't grab a cup of coffee with a friend."

"Have any place in mind?"

"You know that place we went to over by the labs?" Then he mentally smacked himself. She wasn't going to want to go there...

"Yeah. How soon can you get there?"

"Faster than you."

"First person to get there doesn't have to buy drinks."

"Deal."

**\---**

He saw her as he approached the coffee shop. She took one look at him and grinned, running to the door. But he was faster, and he managed to get his hand firmly on the door handle to the cafe before her hand closed over his. He felt that familiar sense of electricity jolt through him like he did every time she'd touched him. "I got here first," he said, trying to sound slightly smug...and probably failing miserably.

She still hadn't moved her hand. "Yeah, I guess you beat me fair and square." She looked at him and smiled. "Guess this means you get free coffee tonight."

"Guess I do." She finally removed her hand and he opened the door for her. She stepped inside gracefully and went to the counter with him close behind. "Your usual?" she asked.

"Sounds good. I'll grab us a seat," he said, looking around. At night this place picked up, and tables were being taken up fast. Surprisingly, the two armchairs that were in the back corner were empty and he quickly headed over there, beating out another guy with a date. The guy glared at him slightly but the woman touched his arm and the man seemed not to care anymore. Flack wondered if his face was that expressive any time Aiden touched him.

A few minutes later she came over with two mugs of coffee. "Wow, you got the good seats. I'm impressed." She set the coffees down on the table between the armchairs and sat down in the empty one. "It's nice to see you," she said.

"Look, Aiden, I..."

"Please don't say you were sorry or busy," she said quietly.

"I was _going_ to say I should have called _you_ , not the other way around. I'm not usually that bad of a friend."

"You're not a bad friend," she said. She picked up her coffee and took a sip. "Hell, if the situation was reversed I probably would have done the same."

"Let's make it a point to just catch up tonight, okay?"

She set her coffee down and put her hand on his. "All right."

**\---**

Four hours later, they were still talking. But he knew it was time to call it a night, and so did she.

"This was good," he said, gesturing to his third cup of coffee.

"But you have to go," she said.

"Yeah. Early call tomorrow; I have to pay a visit to a witness before they go upstate."

"Prison or visiting?"

He grinned. "Visiting. We know where to get him if we need him, but I'd rather do it in the morning."

"Good plan," she said, nodding. "Sure there's no way he's a suspect?"

"Absolutely. He taped part of the murder while he was taping his wife..." He left it off. "Doing something of a sexual nature."

"Ah," she said. "Say no more. Mostly because I don't think I want to know." She grinned at him. "Maybe we can do this again soon?"

"Definitely." He took her cup and took them back to the counter. She had stood up and followed him and when he turned around he threw her off balance. Instinctively, he put his arm around her waist to steady her.

"I...uh... Thanks," she said.

"No problem." He let go of her and as he watched, it almost seemed like she hadn't wanted him to do that, but he was probably imagining that. "Come on, I'll get you a cab."

"Actually, my apartment's not that far away. I walked over here."

"Then I'll walk you back."

**\---**

"This is the place."

He was surprised to realize that in all the years he'd known her he'd never been to her apartment. "Nice place."

She swatted his shoulder lightly. "You haven't even seen the inside of it," she said with a smile. "Maybe one day I'll show you."

"That'd be nice."

The stood there looking at each other. "Guess I should go."

"Yeah." He gave her a hug, and she put her arms up around him so her hands were almost on his shoulder and her chin rested on his shoulder. He shut his eyes and savored the moment. He didn't want to let her go, he realized. And neither did she. They stood there for a few seconds, and then about a minute. When it started to hit two minutes she finally pulled away, just a bit. He opened his eyes and saw she was looking at him. "You got to let me go if you want me to get home," he said quietly, trying to make it a joke.

"What if I said I didn't want to?"

He didn't know what to say, or he thought he hadn't until the words slipped out. "What if I said I didn't want you to, either?"

"I'd say you'll be here for a while." She leaned up and before he knew it her lips were on his. He'd expected a quick hug and maybe a kiss on the cheek. This, he had _not_ been expecting, but he took advantage of the opportunity and kissed her back. When they pulled apart after what seemed like an eternity, he noticed she looked flush and was just as breathless as he was. She pulled her arms away and he found that he wasn't sure he liked that very much. Then she reached up and cupped his cheek in her hand. "I know..." she began and then stopped. "I've been wanting to do that for a long time."

"Me too," he said, putting his hand on top of hers. He knew as the minutes ticked by, the more likely it was that there'd be an invitation to go inside, and as much as he'd want to, it just didn't seem right. If he turned her down, he had no clue how she'd take that. Hell, he had no clue about _any_ of this situation.

"I know you need to go now, so I'll...I'll go inside. But...maybe you and I could go...out."

"I think I'd like that a lot."

"What're you doing Friday?"

"If I'm not working, I'm free."

"Then...call me tomorrow, and we can figure out what to do." He let go of her hand and she moved it away from his face. "And you better call."

"I will, even if I have to sneak away from a scene to do it."

She grinned at him one last time and walked into her building. He stood there a moment, watching, and once she was inside he walked back to the cafe and the cabs, whistling to himself as he walked.


End file.
